The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-07-22
THE JOBBERS' UNION.
Its Complaint Against the Omaha
Heard by the Railroad Com
mission.

Senator +. NJ. Pope and Mr.. j.. A.
Moore, representing the Mankato job
bers' Union, were at st. Paul yesterday
to present their arguments on the COM
plant of the Union against the Omaha,
and Chicago q Northwestern railway
companies. They were ably assisted by
Mr.. J. M. Burlingame, of Owatonna, in
behalf of the State Business Mems Asso-
cation. Judge j. j. How, attorney for
the Omaha, and f. B. Clark, general
traffic manager, were present to defend
the railways.
The Globe says the hearing lasted all
day. The complaint, as stated by Senator
Pope. was that the Omaha company was
violating Sections 2and s of the state
railroad law in giving cheaper rates from
st. Paul to Duluth and vice versa than it
gave to Mankato to st. Paul and vice
versa. Judge How explained that the
business on the Duluth branch came I'M
der the interstate law and was govern
ed by the interstate distance tariff.
The road could afford to give cheaper
rates over the Duluth branch, since that
line went into Wisconsin, and was sub
ject to Interstate restrictions, than it
could between st. Paul and Mankato.
All commerce on the Mississippi was
subject to Interstate rulings, and was
included in inter state commerce. If
the commission would ask the several
railroad companies to publish distance
tariffs separate from the interstate tar
ifs no doubt they would do so. Judge
How thought the construction of the
constitutional provision referred to by
Senator Pope was altogether different
than the construction Senator Pope
made of it.
Senator Pope argued in substance
that:
Section of the law in regard to spec
ial tariffs has been been violated by the
Milwaukee, Omaha, and Northwestern
roads, and section 8, providing for the
publication of distance tariffs, has not
been carried out. The provisions of the
long and short haul clause have not been
kept in the transaction of business from
Duluth TO Mankato. These roads have
failed completely to comply with the
law in regard to publication of tariffs. 1t
may readily be seen that special tariffs
vary materially from distance tariffs, and
this is clearly illegal under our law, al
though the defense of the roads is that
it in no way conflicts with any law of the
state. The constitution provides that
the carrying of freight and passengers
by common carriers be upon equal and
reasonable terms, and the language is
incorporated in the railroad law. but a
startling instance of inequality is seen in
the rates from Hastings to St. Paul, Is
cents on first class freight. and from
Hastings to Red Wing, "a cents on first
class; from Red Wing to Newport, 81
miles, % cents, and Eta to Lake City,
20 miles, 81 cents, both first class. and
there are many similar instances. Such
gross inequalities are expressly forbid
den by our constitution, but it is found
that no effort is made to remove dis
elimination in regard to localities. The
Omaha road claims that traffic between
Duluth and st. Paul and Mankato is in
ter-state business, and on that plea per-
sistently discriminates against Mankato
and other cities. 1t was clearly not in
ter-state business since it was between
different points in the same state. The
law provides for distance tariffs and the
roads continue to use special tariffs.
Judge How thought the whole trouble
was that the buyer of transportation
was allowed to buy at his own terms,
and this had a tendency to paralyze bus
mess. The Omaha road has honestly
tried to comply with the law in publish
ing a distance tariff, and he thought it
had succeeded. He considered Mr..
Pope entirely wrong in his construction
of the constitution, and thought it, at
any rate, a naked mandate. The words
distance tariff are found but once in
the law referred to by Mr., Pope, and
did not mean what the latter would
have them mean. The business from
Duluth by the Omaha was interstate
business, and the commission had no
jurisdiction.
The point at issue seemed to be that
the railroad company claimed that its
business on the Duluth branch comes
under the Interstate commerce ruling,
and was subject to the distance tariff
required by the interstate law, while
Mr.. Pope and Mr.. Burlingame couldn't
see why the matter shouldn't come un-
der the jurisdiction of the state railroad
commission.
The railroad commissioners will con-
slider the arguments and give the deci-
sion soon.